But it wasn't the ending of the season's biggest game that frosted the 49ers. It was a couple of plays that came earlier -- a Green Bay touchdown that wasn't a touchdown, and a pair of penalties and the ejection of 49ers' nickelback Steve Israel.

The Packers' phantom touchdown, a 59-yard pass from Brett Favre to Don Beebe, got them back into the game in the third quarter. The penalties against Israel were key plays on the drive that led to Jacke's tying field goal, a 31-yarder, with eight seconds to go in the fourth quarter.

"This was a big game. I wish we had the red flag," said 49ers' cornerback Marquez Pope, referring to the flag which coaches used to challenge plays in an instant replay experiment conducted during exhibition games this summer.

But there is no instant replay in real games, and it may take all the way to a possible rematch in the playoffs before you'd be able to convince the 49ers that it was not the officials who were the chief cause of their second defeat of the season.

At one point, it looked like Pope would be the 49ers' hero. The converted safety, continuing to show he's not too shabby on the corner, made his fourth interception of the season and returned it to the Packers' 12-yard line with 2:13 to go and the game tied at 17.

Right then, coach George Seifert, missing in his first try to win his 100th game, chose to put the game in the hands of the 49ers' defense. He ordered three safe runs to set up a field goal, choosing not to let Grbac -- making his third straight start -- take even one shot at a possible touchdown.

"I felt like I didn't want to put ourselves in position for a sack or an interception," Seifert said. "We wanted to get (the Packers) to use as many timeouts as we could, and run some clock off."

Grbac, who made two of the niftiest throws of his life for a pair of second-quarter touchdowns to Jerry Rice, agreed with the strategy.

"I told him, 'Let's go for the sure thing,' " Grbac said. "Get the three points and put our defense out there, because our defense was playing so good -- 'til the damn refs gave them (20) yards in penalties. I think the game was just stolen after that."

Green Bay had to use two of its timeouts, and Jeff Wilkins' 28-yard field goal with 1:50 remaining put the 49ers ahead, 20-17.

After the kickoff, the Packers faced 2nd-and-3 on their own 25. Favre threw toward tight end Keith Jackson over the middle. The pass was incomplete. But on the right side, away from the ball, a penalty flag was thrown at Israel for getting his hand in the face of wide receiver Antonio Freeman.

Israel said he didn't do it.

Another flag followed the first one. Israel admitted he touched the official on the shoulder, but that he was merely trying to get his attention. At any rate, he was tossed out of the game -- and the Packers had 1st-and-10 at their own 45 instead of 3rd-and-3 at the 25.

Here's Israel's explanation of the first penalty:

"The receiver wouldn't get off the jam. The play was basically over. He hit my hand, and it went up to the top of the chest area."

And the second:

"I didn't push (the official), shove him or anything. No profanity. I touched him on the shoulder. I guess he thought I shoved him. I didn't shove him at all."

Safety Tim McDonald, who was nearby, backed Israel's version of events. "The official blew up. The guy's got some short fuse." Seifert said the officials told him Israel was thrown out of the game "because he made physical contact with the official."

Whatever the case, it was enough for 20 yards. And that was all the help Favre needed.

Favre, who wound up passing for 395 yards on 61 attempts, a Green Bay record, threw to Beebe for 11 yards, then nine, to the 49ers' 35-yard line. A 12-yard scramble by Favre kept the drive going, and then Jacke made the kick that tied the game.

In overtime, the 49ers won the toss and had the ball first.

Wide receiver J.J. Stokes, who had his hands on at least four catchable passes and held none of them -- his second straight game with no receptions -- dropped a third-down pass on a sideline route. The 49ers punted. The Packers took over at their 44. On 3rd-and-7, Favre threw 13 yards to Beebe. The drive stalled at the 35. Jacke came on and made the 53-yarder with room to spare.

If there was a hero for the Packers, besides Jacke, it was Beebe, who came into the game after starting wideout Robert Brooks injured an ankle on the Packers' first play from scrimmage. Beebe caught 11 passes for a career-best 220 yards.

But that included a pivotal 30 yards that never should have counted.

With the 49ers ahead 17-6 in the third quarter, Favre threw to Beebe, who made a diving catch and was clearly downed at the San Francisco 30-yard line. While Beebe lay on the ground, Pope put a hand on his right knee. Then Beebe got up and ran to the end zone and leaped up the wall to the stands.

The officials huddled. Then they called it a touchdown.

Television replays showed clearly that Pope had touched Beebe on the ground at the 30-yard line, which should have ended the play.

"From what (the official) said, he didn't see it," Pope said. "That was probably his call. I know I touched (Beebe), and you could see it on the replay."

The two-point PAT that followed was almost as weird.

Favre threw in the middle of the field to running back Edgar Bennett. As Bennett was being tackled, with one knee on the ground, he reached the ball across the goal line. It was not clear from the replay whether Bennett got the ball across before or after his knee hit the ground.

Both the touchdown and conversion would have been eligible for replay review under both the replay rule that was in effect from 1986 to 1991, and under the experimental rule used in exhibition games this summer.

The eight points cut the 49ers' lead to 17-14 in the middle of the third quarter. It stayed that way until Jacke made a 35-yard field goal with 3:35 to go after a 50-yard, 14-play drive.

Thus the Packers (6-1) have, in effect, a two-game lead on the 49ers (4-2) in the race for possible home-field advantage in the NFC playoffs. And the 49ers fall back into a tie with Carolina for first place in the West.

"Games like this can break you down," Pope said. "We have to be mature and understand the loss and understand the game."

So what does it mean?

"It means we're 4-2, and we've got to get ready for Cincinnati (next Sunday at Candlestick) and go win the next one," safety Merton Hanks said. "It's early in the season."